WO2025072127A1 - Mu-mimo detection assistance - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus configured to process, based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, the DCI scheduling either one codeword or two codewords and determine whether the DCI scheduled one codeword or two codewords, the network assistant signaling is used when scheduled with one codeword and the network assistant signaling is ignored when scheduled with two codewords.

Description

MU-MIMO Detection Assistance

Inventors: Haitong Sun, Ankit Bhamri, Dawei Zhang, Huaning Niu,

Jie Cui, Manasa Raghavan, Oghenekome Oteri and Wei Zeng

Priori ty/ Incorporation By Reference

[0001] This application claims priority to US Provisional Application Serial No. 63/585, 750 filed on September 27, 2023, entitled "Method and Apparatus for MU-MIMO Detection Assistance, " the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein .

Background

[0002] A user equipment (UE) may connect to a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) network. In some cases, the UE may connect to the 5G NR network in a multiple user multipleinput multiple-output (MU-MIMO) deployment scenario in which a base station of the network uses multiple antennas to simultaneously communicate with the UE and at least one further device, e.g. , a co-scheduled UE, in the same physical resource block (PRB) .

[0003] A UE in a MU-MIMO deployment may use a reduced complexity maximum likelihood (R-ML) receiver in which the receiver estimates a transmitted signal by comparing a received signal to a set of possible transmitted signals and selecting the transmitted signal with the highest likelihood. It has been observed in such cases that it may be beneficial to use assistance signaling in downlink control information (DCI) to inform a scheduled UE of essential information related to the interfering MIMO layers associated with co-scheduled UEs. Summary

[ 0004 ] Some example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to process , based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC ) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information ( DCI ) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, the DCI scheduling either one codeword or two codewords and determine whether the DCI scheduled one codeword or two codewords , the network assistant signaling is used when scheduled with one codeword and the network assistant signaling is ignored when scheduled with two codewords .

[ 0005 ] Other example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to process , based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC ) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information ( DCI ) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, determine a codepoint mapping to content in which a demodulation reference signal ( DMRS ) sequence for the one or more coscheduled UEs is considered to be a same DMRS sequence as the apparatus , measure DMRS of a physical downlink shared channel ( PDSCH) transmission, estimate channel interference caused by PDSCH transmissions to the one or more co-scheduled UEs , determine , based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS sequence initiali zation, Ci_nit, for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS sequence initiali zation, c_init, as the apparatus and process the PDSCH transmission based on channel estimation . Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] Fig. 1 shows an example network arrangement according to various example embodiments.

[0007] Fig. 2 shows an example user equipment (UE) according to various example embodiments.

[0008] Fig. 3 shows an example base station according to various example embodiments.

[0009] Fig. 4 shows an example table in which a value of a bit field in DCI may indicate information to a target UE about co-scheduled UEs in a MU-MIMO deployment according to various example embodiments.

[0010] Fig. 5a shows an example table in which a subset of entries from the example table of Fig. 4 may indicate information to a target UE about co-scheduled UEs in a MU-MIMO deployment according to various example embodiments.

[0011] Fig. 5b shows an example table in which multiple entries from the example table of Fig. 4 may be combined and may indicate information to a target UE about co-scheduled UEs in a MU-MIMO deployment according to various example embodiments.

[0012] Fig. 6 shows a method for channel estimation and downlink reception in a MU-MIMO deployment according to various example embodiments. Detailed Description

[0013] The example embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The example embodiments define various aspects of assistance signaling carried in downlink control information (DCI) for a user equipment (UE) in a multiple user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) deployment. The assistance signaling may be referred to herein as "DCI based network assistant signaling." In various example embodiments, the DCI based network assistant signaling may indicate to a target UE information about co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO deployment so that the target UE may perform downlink (DL) channel estimation using the information. In one example, the information about the co-scheduled UEs may help the target UE to estimate the interference from the co-scheduled UEs and compensate for this interference when receiving the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) .

[0014] The example embodiments are described with regard to a user equipment (UE) . However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any electronic component.

[0015] The example embodiments are also described with regard to a fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) network enabled for MU-MIMO. However, reference to a 5G NR network is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any appropriate type of network capable of MU- MIMO operations.

[0016] Multiple user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) refers to MIMO technologies in which at least one network device, e.g. , an access point or base station of a radio access network (RAN) , uses multiple antennas to simultaneously communicate with multiple devices, e.g., UEs, deployed in the cell. MU-MIMO systems may use beamforming techniques to direct respective signals toward each of the multiple devices and increase spectral efficiency. In MU-MIMO, the same physical resource block (PRE) may be shared among the multiple users.

[0017] Fig. 1 shows an example network arrangement 100 according to various example embodiments. The example network arrangement 100 includes a first UE 110 and a second UE 112. The UEs 110, 112 may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g. , mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (loT) devices, etc. An actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of two UES 110, 112 is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

[0018] The UEs 110, 112 may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of the network configuration 100, the network with which the UES 110, 112 may wirelessly communicate is a 5G NR radio access network (RAN) 120. However, the UEs 110, 112 may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g. , 5G cloud RAN, a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) , a long term evolution (LTE) RAN, a legacy cellular network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) , etc. ) and the UEs 110, 112 may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to the example embodiments, the UEs

110, 112 may establish a connection with the 5G NR RAN

120. Therefore, the UEs 110, 112 may have a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the NR RAN 120.

[0019] The 5G NR RAN 120 may be a portion of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network carrier (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) . The 5G NR RAN 120 may include, for example, cells or base stations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. In the present embodiments, the 5G NR RAN 120 may be enabled for MU-MIMO functionalities.

[0020] Any association procedure may be performed for the UEs 110, 112 to connect to the 5G NR RAN 120. For example, as discussed above, the 5G NR RAN 120 may be associated with a particular cellular provider where the UEs 110, 112 and/or the users thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card) . Upon detecting the presence of the 5G NR RAN 120, the UEs 110, 112 may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with the 5G NR RAN 120. More specifically, the UEs 110, 112 may associate with a specific base station, e.g., the gNB 120A. In a MU-MIMO deployment, the gNB 120A may be equipped with multiple antenna arrays for connecting to both the UEs 110, 112 and/or additional UEs simultaneously in a same physical resource block (PRB) .

[0021] The network arrangement 100 also includes a cellular core network 130, the Internet 140, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 150, and a network services backbone 160. The cellular core network 130 may refer an interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network. It may include the evolved packet core (EPC) and/or the 5G core (5GC) . The cellular core network 130 also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet 140. The IMS 150 may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UES 110, 112 using the IP protocol. The IMS 150 may communicate with the cellular core network 130 and the Internet 140 to provide the multimedia services to the UES 110, 112. The network services backbone 160 is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet 140 and the cellular core network 130. The network services backbone 160 may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UES 110, 112 in communication with the various networks .

[0022] Fig. 2 shows an example UE 110 according to various example embodiments. The UE 110 will be described with regard to the network arrangement 100 of Fig. 1. The UE 110 of Fig. 2 may also represent the UE 112. The UE 110 may include a processor 205, a memory arrangement 210, a display device 215, an input/output (I/O) device 220, a transceiver 225 and other components 230. The other components 230 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a power supply, a data acguisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE 110 to other electronic devices, etc.

[0023] The processor 205 may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the UE 110. For example, the engines may include a MU-MIMO engine 235. The MU-MIMO engine 235 may perform various operations related to channel estimation and PDSCH reception in a MU-MIMO deployment including, but not limited to , receiving an RRC configuration to establish a dedicated connection with the 5G NR RAN enabled for MU-MIMO, receiving signaling in DOI indicating information about co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO deployment , performing channel estimation in dependence on the information about the co-scheduled UEs , and receiving the PDSCH . In various aspects of these example embodiments , the DCI based network assistant signaling may be defined in various ways such that the UE receiving the signaling may make various assumptions about the co-scheduled UEs ( e . g . , determinations based on the network assistant signaling) , particularly with regard to a demodulation reference signal ( DMRS ) sequence and modulation scheme of the co-scheduled UEs , to be described in greater detail below .

[ 0024 ] The above referenced engine 235 being an application ( e . g . , a program) executed by the processor 205 is merely provided for illustrative purposes . The functionality associated with the engine 235 may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE 110 or may be a modular component coupled to the UE 110 , e . g . , an integrated circuit with or without firmware . For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information . The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications . In addition, in some UEs , the functionality described for the processor 205 is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor . The example embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE . [0025] The memory arrangement 210 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE 110. The display device 215 may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device 220 may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device 215 and the I/O device 220 may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen .

[0026] The transceiver 225 may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN 120, an LTE-RAN (not pictured) , a legacy RAN (not pictured) , a WLAN (not pictured) , etc. Accordingly, the transceiver 225 may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g. , set of consecutive frequencies) . The transceiver 225 includes circuitry configured to transmit and/or receive signals (e.g., control signals, data signals) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein. The processor 205 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 225 and configured to receive from and/or transmit signals to the transceiver 225. The processor 205 may be configured to encode and/or decode signals (e.g., signaling from a base station of a network) for implementing any one of the methods described herein.

[0027] Fig. 3 shows an example base station 300 according to various example embodiments. The base station 300 may represent the gNB 120A or any other access node through which the UEs 110, 112 may establish a connection and manage network operations. [0028] The base station 300 may include a processor 305, a memory arrangement 310, an input/output (I/O) device 315, a transceiver 320 and other components 325. The other components 325 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the base station 300 to other electronic devices and/or power sources, etc.

[0029] The processor 305 may be configured to execute a plurality of engines for the base station 300. For example, the engines may include a MU-MIMO engine 330. The MU-MIMO engine 330 may perform various operations related to MU-MIMO functionalities including, but not limited to, configuring the UEs 110, 112 with RRC parameters to establish a dedicated connection with the UEs 110, 112, transmitting DCI-based network assistant signaling to the UEs 110, 112 indicating information about co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO deployment, and transmitting the PDSCH to the UEs 110, 112. In various aspects of these example embodiments, the DCI based network assistant signaling may be defined in various ways such that the UE receiving the signaling may make various assumptions about the co-scheduled UEs, particularly with regard to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence and modulation scheme of the co-scheduled UEs, to be described in greater detail below.

[0030] The above noted engine 330 being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor 305 is only example. The functionality associated with the engine 330 may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the base station 300 or may be a modular component coupled to the base station 300, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. In addition, in some base stations, the functionality described for the processor 305 is split among a plurality of processors (e.g., a baseband processor, an applications processor, etc. ) . The example embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a base station.

[0031] The memory 310 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the base station 300. The I/O device 315 may be a hardware component or ports that enable a user to interact with the base station 300.

[0032] The transceiver 320 may be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the UES 110, 112 and any other UE in the network arrangement 100. The transceiver 320 may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g. , set of consecutive frequencies) . Therefore, the transceiver 320 may include one or more components (e.g. , radios) to enable the data exchange with the various networks and UEs. The transceiver 320 includes circuitry configured to transmit and/or receive signals (e.g. , control signals, data signals) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein. The processor 305 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 320 and configured to receive from and/or transmit signals to the transceiver 320. The processor 305 may be configured to encode and/or decode signals (e.g. , signaling from a UE) for implementing any one of the methods described herein .

[0033] UEs in a MU-MIMO deployment may use a reduced complexity maximum likelihood (R-ML) receiver in which the receiver estimates a transmitted signal by comparing a received signal to a set of possible transmitted signals and selecting the transmitted signal with the highest likelihood. It has been observed that it may be beneficial to use downlink control information (DCI) based network assistant signaling to inform a scheduled UE of essential information related to the interfering MIMO layers associated with co-scheduled UEs.

[0034] A field in DCI, e.g., DCI format 1_1, may be used to indicate information regarding co-scheduled UEs in a MU-MIMO deployment. This information may relate to a DMRS sequence and/or a modulation scheme configured for the co-scheduled UEs. This field may comprise 3 bits for indicating one of eight possible codepoints (bit values) , with each codepoint indicating different information about the co-scheduled UEs.

[0035] Fig. 4 shows an example table 400 in which a value of a bit field in DCI may indicate information to a target UE about co-scheduled UEs in a MU-MIMO deployment according to various example embodiments. The table 400 includes eight entries corresponding to bit values 0-7, e.g., of a 3-bit field. Each of the bit values maps to content related to a DMRS sequence and a modulation scheme of co-scheduled UEs. In this example, a bit value of 0 indicates no co-scheduled UE(s) in the MU-MIMO deployment has a same DMRS sequence as the target UE and bit values 1-5 indicate all co-scheduled UE(s) having the same DMRS sequence as the target UE has a same modulation scheme scheduled in all the PRBs allocated to the target UE . In this example, a bit value of 1 indicates QPSK is scheduled for these coscheduled UE ( s ) ; a bit value of 2 indicates 16QAM is scheduled for these co-scheduled UE(s) ; a bit value of 3 indicates 64QAM is scheduled for these co-scheduled UE(s) ; a bit value of 4 indicates 256QAM is scheduled for these co-scheduled UE ( s ) ; and a bit value of 5 indicates 1024QAM is scheduled for these coscheduled UE ( s ) . In this example, a bit value of 6 indicates only a single modulation order is allocated for the co-scheduled UE ( s ) having the same DMRS seguence as the target UE , if these co-scheduled UE ( s ) exist , in each individual PRE allocated to the target UE .

[ 0036 ] I f the bit map shown in table 400 ( or a similar type of bit map) is adopted for the DCI based network assistant signaling, many issues remain unclear, including : how to define the " same DMRS sequence" ; whether this new signaling in DCI is introduced in DCI format 1_2 in addition to format 1_1 ; whether this new signaling in DCI is supported for one or more DL multi- TRP schemes ; whether this new signaling in DCI is supported when a maximum number of codewords scheduled by DCI (RRC parameter maxNrof CodeWordsScheduledByDCI ) is configured as 2 ; whether the new signaling in DCI is supported when code block group ( CBG) transmission (RRC parameter codeBlockGroupTransmission) is configured; whether the new signaling in DCI is supported when Rel-18 DMRS is configured; in the content corresponding to a bit value of 6 in the table 400 above, whether or not the term PRB (physical resource block) should be replaced by the term PRG (physical resource block group ) ( e . g . , whether " In each individual PRB allocated to the target UE , the following condition is satis fied" should be replaced by " In each individual PRG allocated to the target UE , the following condition is satis fied" ) ; and in the content corresponding to bit values 1-5 whether the phrase "empty PRB without coscheduled UE" is allowed "in all the PRBs" of the target UE . [0037] According to various aspects of the example embodiments, solutions are provided for the various issues identified above with respect to DCI based network assistant signaling. In some example embodiments, the meaning of the term "same DMRS sequence" is defined for the DCI based network assistant signaling. In these example embodiments, when the value of the DCI bit field corresponds to content reciting the "same DMRS sequence," the term may refer to various DMRS-related parameters or combinations of these parameters according to a number of options described below. When the target UE in the MU-MIMO deployment detects the codepoint for this DCI field indicating, e.g., that the UE may assume the co-scheduled UEs have the same DMRS sequence, the UE may assume various aspects/parameters relating to the DMRS configuration of the coscheduled UEs is the same as the configured aspects/parameters relating to the DMRS configuration of the target UE .

[0038] In other example embodiments, details are provided for supporting the DCI based network assistant signaling for DCI format 1 2. In still other example embodiments, details are provided for supporting the DCI based network assistant signaling for DL multi-TRP schemes. In further example embodiments, details are provided for supporting the DCI based network assistant signaling when the target UE is configured with maximum of 2 codewords. Additional example embodiments provide details for supporting the DCI based network assistant signaling when codeblock group (CBG) based transmission is configured for the target UE . In still other example embodiments, details are provided for supporting the DCI based network assistant signaling in view of the minimum PDSCH processing timeline, e.g. , for PDSCH processing capability 1 and

PDSCH processing capability 2. [0039] Fig. 6 shows a method 600 for channel estimation and downlink reception in a MU-MIMO deployment according to various example embodiments. The method 600 is described here in brief to illustrate the aspects of PDSCH reception relevant to the example embodiments described herein. Each of these steps and related example embodiments are described in greater detail below. The method 600 is described from the perspective of a UE enabled for the DCI-based network assistant signaling described herein .

[0040] In 605, the UE establishes a dedicated connection and receives configuration parameters from an access point, e.g., base station, of a radio access network (RAN) , e.g. , the 5G NR RAN, enabled for MU-MIMO operations. The UE may be configured with (or not configured with) various RRC parameters relevant to the present embodiments, including: DMRS-related parameters (e.g., in DMRS-DownlinkConfig) ; PDSCH-related parameters; multi- TRP related parameters; codeword related parameters; and code block group (CBG) related parameters. According to various aspects of the example embodiments, the UE may also be configured with DCI based network assistant signaling. The UE configured with the DCI based network assistant signaling may expect to receive in DCI a bit field indicating information about the configurations of co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO deployment. In some aspects, the DCI based network assistant signaling is restricted under certain conditions, e.g., the DCI based network assistant signaling cannot be configured for the UE when certain other RRC parameters are configured for the UE, to be described in detail below. [0041] In some aspects, during the RRC connection with the RAN, the UE may send a capability report to the RAN. The UE may report capabilities related to its processing capabilities, e.g., whether PDSCH processing capability 2 is supported, whether a relaxed timeline is supported, etc. , to be described in detail below.

[0042] In 610, the target UE receives one or more DCI messages, wherein one of the DCI includes the network assistant signaling (if the DCI based network assistant signaling is configured for the target UE) . In various aspects of the example embodiments, the network assistant signaling may comprise 3-bits or fewer and indicate information related to a DMRS sequence and/or a modulation scheme used by co-scheduled UEs in the MU-MIMO deployment. In some aspects, the network assistant signaling may indicate the co-scheduled UE (s) have a same DMRS sequence and/or modulation scheme as the target UE . The term "same DMRS sequence" may connote one or more different parameters related to DMRS reception that may be assumed to be the same for co-scheduled UEs as for the target UE . In some examples, the parameters assumed to be the same for the UEs in the MU-MIMO deployment may comprise, e.g. , a same initialization, a same subcarrier spacing (SCS) , a same precoding resource block group (PRG) alignment, and/or other types of parameters to be described in detail below.

[0043] In further aspects of the example embodiments, the network assistant signaling may be carried in DCI format 1_1 and comprises 3 bits. In some aspects, the network assistant signaling may alternatively be carried in DCI format 1 2 and comprise 3 bits or fewer, to be described in detail below. [ 0044 ] In further aspects of the example embodiments , the one or more DCI may additionally carry indications for : scheduling and/or resource allocation; DMRS ports ; type of DMRS (Rel- 16 , Rel-18 , legacy) used by co-scheduled UE, and other parameters .

[ 0045 ] In 615, the target UE receives the PDSCH . The target UE estimates the channel based on DMRS and in view of the network assistant signaling . The target UE estimates its own channel and perform calculations related to estimating the channel of its co-scheduled UEs . Based on the channel estimation, the UE demodulates the PDSCH .

[ 0046] NR has specified a PDSCH processing timeline . In various aspects , the UE may support PDSCH processing capability 1 ( regular latency) or PDSCH capability 2 ( low latency) . In some aspects , the timeline for either or both PDSCH processing capability 1 and/or PDSCH processing capability 2 may be relaxed for the UE configured with the network assistant signaling . In some aspects , the UE is not expected to support PDSCH processing capability 2 when the UE is configured with the network assistant signaling .

[ 0047 ] As described above , information about the DMRS sequence and modulation scheme of co-scheduled UEs may help a target UE perform channel estimation . As shown above in the table 400 of Fig . 4 , various codepoints of the bit field in DCI may indicate that co-scheduled UEs have a same DMRS sequence as the target UE . However, the meaning of the " same DMRS sequence" is not well defined, considering the many parameters involved in DMRS reception . [0048] In some aspects of the example embodiments, when the network indicates in DCI to a target UE that the co-scheduled UE(s) have the same DMRS sequence (referring to step 610 of Fig. 6 described above) , one or multiple parameters configured for the DMRS of the target UE (referring to step 605 of Fig. 6 described above) may be assumed by the target UE to be the same for co-scheduled UE(s) in the MU-MIMO deployment.

[0049] In some example embodiments, the DMRS sequence (s) of the co-scheduled UE(s) may be assumed to have the same initialization, Ci_nit, as the DMRS sequence of the target UE when the network assistant signaling in DCI indicates the same DMRS sequence for the co-scheduled UE(s) . In some example embodiments, the same initialization may refer to the same "DMRS sequence initialization," n_SCID, is scheduled for the co-scheduled UEs as the target UE . In another example embodiment, the same initialization may refer to the same scrambling IDs, N°_D

( scramblingIDO in DMRS-DownlinkConf ig) and N^_D ( scramblingIDl in DMRS-DownlinkConf ig) , are configured for the co-scheduled UEs as the target UE . In still another example embodiment, the same initialization may refer to slot synchronization between the coscheduled UEs and the target UE . Slot synchronization comprises the same slot index,

and OFDM symbol index within the slot,

I, for the co-scheduled UEs and the target UE .

[0050] In another example embodiment, the subcarrier spacing

(SCS) of the co-scheduled UE(s) may be assumed to be the same SCS as the target UE when the network assistant signaling in DCI indicates the same DMRS sequence for the co-scheduled UE(s) . [0051] In another example embodiment, the common resource block (Point A) of the co-scheduled UE(s) may be assumed to be the same common resource block as the target UE when the network assistant signaling in DCI indicates the same DMRS sequence for the co-scheduled UE(s) .

[0052] In another example embodiment, the DMRS Configuration type of the co-scheduled UE(s) may be assumed to be the same DMRS Configuration type as the target UE when the network assistant signaling in DCI indicates the same DMRS sequence for the co-scheduled UE(s) . The DMRS configuration type may refer to DMRS Configuration type 1 (2 CDM groups) or DMRS Configuration type 2 (3 CDM groups) .

[0053] In another example embodiment, the number of DMRS symbols of the co-scheduled UE(s) may be assumed to be the same number of DMRS symbols as the target UE when the network assistant signaling in DCI indicates the same DMRS sequence for the co-scheduled UE(s) . The number of DMRS symbols may refer to 1 symbol DMRS or 2 symbol DMRS.

[0054] In another example embodiment, the co-scheduled UE(s) may be assumed to be PRG (Precoding Resource Block Group) aligned with the target UE when the network assistant signaling in DCI indicates the same DMRS sequence for the co-scheduled UE(s) . In one embodiment, PRG-aligned may refer to the size of the PRG being the same, e.g., {2PRB, 4PRB, or wideband} . In another embodiment, PRG-aligned may refer to the size of the PRG of the co-scheduled UE(s) being larger than or equal to the size of PRG of the scheduled UE . [0055] In another example embodiment, the following options may be used when the network assistant signaling in DCI indicates the same DMRS sequence (s) for the co-scheduled UE (s) and when Rel-16 DMRS is configured for the target UE (dmrs- Downlink-rl6 is configured in DMRS-DownlinkConf ig) . In one option, it is assumed that the DMRS sequence (s) of the coscheduled UE (s) are also configured with Rel-16 DMRS. In this option, the DMRS sequence is initialized differently for different CDM groups. In another option, it is assumed that the DMRS sequence (s) of the co-scheduled UE (s) are configured with legacy DMRS. In this option, the DMRS sequence is initialized the same for different CDM groups. In another option, the network may indicate whether Rel-16 DMRS or legacy DMRS may be assumed for the co-scheduled UE (s) . In this option, the indication may be done by either DCI or RRC.

[0056] In another example embodiment, the following options may be used when the network assistant signaling in DCI indicates the same DMRS sequence (s) for the co-scheduled UE (s) and when Rel-18 DMRS is configured for the scheduled UE (dmrs- Downlink-rl8 is configured in DMRS-DownlinkConf ig) . In one option, it is assumed that the DMRS sequence (s) of the coscheduled UE ( s ) are also configured with Rel-18 DMRS. For Rel- 18 DMRS, FD-OCC 4 (Frequency Domain Orthogonal Cover Code) is used to double the amount of DMRS ports. In another option, it is assumed that the DMRS sequence (s) of the co-scheduled UE (s) are configured with legacy DMRS. For legacy DMRS, FD-OCC 2 is used. In another option, the network may indicate whether Rel- 18 DMRS or legacy DMRS may be assumed for the co-scheduled UE (s) . In this option, the indication may be done by either DCI or RRC . In another option, when only legacy DMRS ports are indicated for the scheduled UE, it is assumed that the co- scheduled UE(s) use the legacy DMRS (FD-OCC 2) . When at least one enhanced DMRS port is indicated for the scheduled UE, it is assumed that the co-scheduled UE(s) use the Rel-18 DMRS (FD-OCC 4) . In this option, it is noted that, for DMRS configuration type 1: legacy DMRS ports are port {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7} and, for DMRS configuration type 2: legacy DMRS ports are port {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11} .

[0057] As described above, the DCI based network assistant signaling is proposed to comprise 3 bits in DCI 1_1, e.g., according to the table 400 of Fig. 4 (referring to step 610 of Fig. 6 described above) . If the DCI based network assistant signaling is also supported for DCI Format 1_2, the field size and mapping for the field may be defined according to the following options.

[0058] In a first option, the field size for the network assistant signaling in DCI format 1 2 comprises 3 bits, similar to the field for the network assistant signaling proposed for DCI format 1 1, and contains all the entries of the table 400. In a second option, the field size in DCI format 1 2 may be smaller than 3 bits. In one embodiment, the field size may be 2 bits. The reduced number of entries may be selected from the table 400. In some embodiments, a subset of entries may be selected. In other embodiments, several entries may be combined. Different combinations of entries may be used.

[0059] Fig. 5a shows an example table 500 in which a subset of entries from the example table 400 of Fig. 4 may indicate information to a target UE about co-scheduled UEs in a MU-MIMO deployment according to various example embodiments. In this example, the bit field for the network assistant signaling comprises 2 bits. The table 500 includes four entries corresponding to bit values 0-3. Each of the bit values maps to content related to a DMRS sequence and a modulation scheme of co-scheduled UEs. In this example, a bit value of 0 indicates no co-scheduled UE(s) in the MU-MIMO deployment has a same DMRS sequence as the target UE and bit values 1-2 indicate all coscheduled UE(s) having the same DMRS sequence as the target UE has a same modulation scheme scheduled in all the PRBs allocated to the target UE . In this example, a bit value of 1 indicates QPSK is scheduled for these co-scheduled UE(s) ; and a bit value of 2 indicates 16QAM is scheduled for these co-scheduled UE(s) . In this example, a bit value of 3 indicates "Others."

[0060] Fig. 5b shows an example table 550 in which multiple entries from the example table 400 of Fig. 4 may be combined and may indicate information to a target UE about co-scheduled UEs in a MU-MIMO deployment according to various example embodiments. In this example, the bit field for the network assistant signaling comprises 2 bits. The table 550 includes four entries corresponding to bit values 0-3. Each of the bit values maps to content related to a DMRS sequence and a modulation scheme of co-scheduled UEs. In this example, a bit value of 0 indicates no co-scheduled UE(s) in the MU-MIMO deployment has a same DMRS sequence as the target UE and bit values 1-2 indicate all co-scheduled UE(s) having the same DMRS sequence as the target UE has a same modulation scheme scheduled in all the PRBs allocated to the target UE . In this example, a bit value of 1 indicates QPSK is scheduled for these coscheduled UE ( s ) ; and a bit value of 2 indicates 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM or 1024QAM is scheduled for these co-scheduled UE ( s ) . In this example, a bit value of 3 indicates "Others. [0061] In other aspects of the example embodiments, if the DCI based network assistant signaling is supported for DL multi- TRP schemes, and the target UE is scheduled with a DL multi-TRP scheme (referring to step 610 of Fig. 6 above) , the following options are available for the target UE . In one option, if the target UE is scheduled with a DL multi-TRP scheme, the coscheduled UE(s) are assumed to be scheduled with the same multi- TRP scheme as the target UE . In one example, the target UE may be scheduled with a single-DCI time domain multiplexing (TDM) multi-TRP schedule. In another example, the target UE may be scheduled with a single frequency network (SFN) scheme B.

[0062] When the scheduled UE is scheduled with single-DCI TDM multi-TRP schedule, one or multiple of the following may be assumed for the co-scheduled UE(s) . In one embodiment, the target UE may assume the co-scheduled UE(s) have the same TDM type, i.e., either intra-slot or inter-slot. In another embodiment, the target UE may assume the co-scheduled UE(s) have the same TDM time domain resource allocation, e.g., in terms of the number of repetitions, the start of each repetition and the duration of each repetition. In another embodiment, the target UE may assume the co-scheduled UE(s) have the same TDM pattern, e.g., in terms of "cyclicMapping" or "sequenticalMapping" . One or multiple of these options may be used.

[0063] When the target UE is scheduled with sfnSchemeB for PDSCH, the following options are available. In a first option, the UE is not expected to be co-scheduled with other UEs also with sfnSchemeB. In a second option, if the UE is expected to be co-scheduled with other UEs also with sfnSchemeB, the UE assumes the same QCL assumption, e.g., the TRP applies the same frequency compensation for both the co-scheduled UE(s) and the scheduled UEs.

[0064] In another option, if the DCI based network assistant signaling is supported for DL multi-TRP schemes, and the target UE is scheduled with a DL multi-TRP scheme, the co-scheduled UE(s) are assumed to be scheduled with the single-TRP scheme.

[0065] In other aspects of the example embodiments, if the target UE is configured with a maximum of two codewords, e.g., maxNrof CodeWordsScheduledByDCI = 'n2' in PDSCH-Config (referring to step 605 of Fig. 6 above) , the following options are available. In one option, when the target UE is configured with a maximum of two codewords, the network is restricted from configuring the DCI based network assistant signaling. In another option, when the target UE is configured with a maximum of two codewords, the network is allowed to configure the DCI based network assistant signaling but the target UE may ignore the DCI field.

[0066] In still another option, when the target UE is configured with a maximum of two codewords, the network is allowed to configure the DCI based network assistant signaling and the UE may either detect or ignore the corresponding DCI field depending on a number of codewords that are scheduled by DCI. In one embodiment, when the DCI schedules only a single codeword (4 PDSCH layers or fewer) , the UE may detect the corresponding DCI field, assuming there are co-scheduled UE(s) . In another embodiment, when the DCI schedules two codewords (greater than 4 PDSCH layers) , the corresponding DCI field may be ignored by the UE, assuming there are no co-scheduled UE(s) . [0067] In another aspect of these example embodiments, if the target UE is configured with code block group (CBG) based transmission, e.g. , codeBlockGroupTransmission in PDSCH- ServingCellConf ig, the following options are available. In one option, when the target UE is configured with CBG based transmission, the network is restricted from configuring the DCI based network assistant signaling. In another option, when the target UE is configured with CBG based transmission, the network is allowed to configure the DCI based network assistant signaling and one or both of the following may be assumed by the target UE for the co-scheduled UEs. In one embodiment, the target UE may assume the same maximum number of CBGs for the coscheduled UEs, e.g. , the same maxCodeBlockGroupsPerTransportBlock . In another embodiment, the target UE may assume that codeBlockGroupFlushlndicator is configured or not configured for the co-scheduled UEs based on whether codeBlockGroupFlushlndicator is configured or not configured for the target UE .

[0068] As described above, NR defines a PDSCH processing timeline. The minimum PDSCH processing timeline is defined as the minimum number of symbols between the end of the last symbol of the PDSCH carrying the TB being acknowledged and the first uplink symbol of the PUCCH which carries the HARQ-ACK information. Two PDSCH processing capabilities are defined, e.g., PDSCH processing capability 1 and PDSCH processing capability 2. PDSCH processing capability 1 corresponds to a regular PDSCH processing and PDSCH processing capability 2 corresponds to a low latency PDSCH processing, only for FR1 (e.g., numerologies 15kHz, 30kHz and 60kHz) . [0069] With regard to low latency PDSCH processing capability 2, when DCI based network assistant signaling for MU-MIMO detection is configured and the UE is expected to use the network assistant signaling for advanced MU-MIMO detection, the following options may be used. In a first option, the UE is not expected to support PDSCH processing capability 2. In a second option, support of PDSCH processing capability 2 is subject to further independent UE capability report. Additional timeline relaxation may be considered for different SCSs.

[0070] With regard to regular latency PDSCH processing capability 1, when DCI based network assistant signaling for MU- MIMO detection is configured and the UE is expected to use the assistant signaling for advanced MU-MIMO detection, the following may be considered. In one embodiment, additional timeline relaxation may be considered for different SCSs. The timeline relaxation may be in units of symbols and may be different for different SCSs. The timeline relaxation may either be reported by the UE as a capability or hardcoded in specification .

Examples

[0071] In a first example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising processing, based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, determining a codepoint mapping to content in which a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is considered to be a same DMRS sequence as the apparatus, measuring DMRS of a physical downlink shared channel ( PDSCH) transmission, estimating channel interference caused by PDSCH transmissions to the one or more co-scheduled UEs , determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS sequence initiali zation, c_init, for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS sequence initiali zation, Ci_nit, as the apparatus and processing the PDSCH transmission based on channel estimation .

[ 0072 ] In a second example , the method of the first example , further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS sequence initiali zation quantity, n_SC!D , for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS sequence initiali zation quantity, n_SCID , as the apparatus .

[ 0073] In a third example , the method of the first example, further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS scrambling identi fier ( ID) , N _D and N^_D, for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS scrambling ID, N°_D and N^_D , as the apparatus .

[ 0074 ] In a fourth example , the method of the first example , further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS slot index, n^, and OFDM symbol index within the slot, I, for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS slot index,

and OFDM symbol index within the slot, I, as the apparatus such that the apparatus and the co-scheduled UEs are slot synchronized .

[ 0075 ] In a fi fth example , the method of the first example, further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a subcarrier spacing ( SCS ) for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same SCS as the apparatus .

[ 0076] In a sixth example , the method of the first example, further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a common resource block for the one or more coscheduled UEs is a same common resource block as the apparatus .

[ 0077 ] In a seventh example , the method of the first example , further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS configuration type for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS configuration type as the apparatus , wherein the DMRS configuration type comprises DMRS configuration type 1 or DMRS configuration type 2 .

[ 0078 ] In an eighth example , the method of the first example , further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a number of DMRS symbols for the one or more coscheduled UEs is a same number of DMRS symbols as the apparatus , wherein the number of DMRS symbols comprises 1 DMRS symbol or 2 DMRS symbols .

[ 0079] In a ninth example , the method of the first example, further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that a si ze of a precoding resource block group ( PRG) for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same or larger si ze of the PRG for the apparatus , wherein the si ze of the PRG is 2 physical resource blocks ( PRB ) , 4 PRE, or wideband .

[ 0080 ] In a tenth example , the method of the first example, wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel- 16 DMRS , the method further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are also configured with Rel- 16 DMRS .

[ 0081 ] In an eleventh example, the method of the first example , wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-16 DMRS , the method further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are configured with legacy DMRS .

[ 0082 ] In a twel fth example , the method of the first example , wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel- 16 DMRS , the method further comprising determining that co-scheduled UEs are also configured with Rel- 16 DMRS or configured with legacy DMRS based on an indication from the network .

[ 0083] In a thirteenth example, the method of the first example , wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-18 DMRS , the method further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are also configured with Rel-18 DMRS .

[ 0084 ] In a fourteenth example, the method of the first example , wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-18 DMRS , the method further comprising determining, based on the network assistant signaling, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are configured with legacy DMRS .

[ 0085 ] In a fi fteenth example, the method of the first example , wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-18 DMRS , the method further comprising determining that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are also configured with Rel- 18 DMRS or is configured with legacy DMRS based on an indication from the network .

[ 0086] In a sixteenth example, the method of the first example , wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-18 DMRS , and when only legacy DMRS ports are indicated, the method further comprising determining that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are configured with legacy DMRS and, when at least one enhanced DMRS port is indicated, determine that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are configured with Rel- 18 DMRS .

[ 0087 ] In a seventeenth example , a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the first through sixteenth examples .

[ 0088 ] In an eighteenth example , a user equipment (UE ) configured to perform any of the methods of the first through sixteenth examples .

[ 0089] In a nineteenth example, a method performed by an apparatus , comprising processing, based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC ) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI ) format 1 2 indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment , wherein the bit field for the network assistant signaling indicates a codepoint mapping to content in which a demodulation reference signal

( DMRS ) sequence for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is considered to be a same DMRS sequence as the apparatus or no DMRS sequence for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is considered to be the same DMRS sequence as the apparatus , measure DMRS of a physical downlink shared channel ( PDSCH) transmission, estimating channel interference caused by PDSCH transmissions to the one or more co-scheduled UEs based on the network assistant signaling and processing the PDSCH transmission based on channel estimation .

[ 0090 ] In a twentieth example, the method of the nineteenth example , wherein the bit field in the DCI format 1 2 comprises 3 bits for indicating one codepoint from a set of eight codepoints , wherein the set of eight codepoints is a same set of eight codepoints corresponding to a bit field in DCI format 1 1 .

[ 0091 ] In a twenty first example , the method of the nineteenth example , wherein the bit field in the DCI format 1 2 comprises 2 bits for indicating one codepoint from a set of four codepoints , wherein the set of four codepoints is a subset of eight codepoints corresponding to a bit field in DCI format 1 1 .

[ 0092 ] In a twenty second example , the method of the nineteenth example , wherein the bit field in the DCI format 1 2 comprises 2 bits for indicating one codepoint from a set of four codepoints , wherein the set of four codepoints is a combination of some or all of eight codepoints corresponding to a bit field in DCI format 1 1 .

[ 0093] In a twenty third example , a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the nineteenth through twenty second examples .

[ 0094 ] In a twenty fourth example , a user equipment (UE ) configured to perform any of the methods of the nineteenth through twenty second examples . [0095] In a twenty fifth example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising processing, based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, measuring demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) , estimating channel interference caused by PDSCH transmissions to the one or more co-scheduled UEs, determining, when the apparatus is scheduled with a single DCI time domain multiplexing (TDM) multi-TRP scheme, that the one or more coscheduled UEs are also scheduled with a same single DCI TDM multi-TRP scheme as the apparatus and processing the PDSCH transmission based on channel estimation.

[0096] In a twenty sixth example, the method of the twenty fifth example, wherein the single DCI TDM multi-TRP scheme includes TDM parameters.

[0097] In a twenty seventh example, the method of the twenty sixth example, wherein the TDM parameters include a TDM type, the TDM type comprising either intra-slot TDM or inter-slot TDM.

[0098] In a twenty eighth example, the method of the twenty sixth example, wherein the TDM parameters include a TDM time domain resource allocation, the TDM time domain resource allocation comprising a number of repetitions, a start of each repetition, and a duration of each repetition. [0099] In a twenty ninth example, the method of the twenty sixth example, wherein the TDM parameters include a TDM pattern, the TDM pattern comprising either cyclic mapping or sequential mapping .

[0100] In a thirtieth example, the method of the twenty fifth example, wherein, when the apparatus is scheduled with a single frequency network (SFN) scheme B, the method further comprising determining that no other UEs are co-scheduled with SFN scheme B.

[0101] In a thirty first example, the method of the twenty fifth example, wherein, when the apparatus is scheduled with a single frequency network (SFN) scheme B, the method further comprising determining that a same quasi co-location (QCL) assumption is applied for the co-scheduled UEs and the apparatus .

[0102] In a thirty second example, a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the twenty fifth through thirty first examples.

[0103] In a thirty third example, a user equipment (UE) configured to perform any of the methods of the twenty fifth through thirty first examples.

[0104] In a thirty fourth example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising processing, based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, measuring demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) , estimating channel interference caused by PDSCH transmissions to the one or more co-scheduled UEs, determining, when the apparatus is scheduled with a multi-TRP scheme, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are scheduled with a single-TRP scheme and processing the PDSCH transmission based on channel estimation.

[0105] In a thirty fifth example, a processor configured to perform the method of the thirty fourth example.

[0106] In a thirty sixth example, a user equipment (UE) configured to perform the method of the thirty fourth example.

[0107] In a thirty seventh example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising generating, for transmission to a user equipment (UE) via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, configuration parameters comprising a configuration of a maximum of two codewords, wherein the apparatus is restricted from configuring network assistant signaling for the UE when the maximum of two codewords is configured for the UE, the network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more coscheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment.

[0108] In a thirty eighth example, a processor configured to perform the method of the thirty seventh example.

[0109] In a thirty ninth example, a base station configured to perform the method of the thirty seventh example. [0110] In a fortieth example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising processing, based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment and ignoring the network assistant signaling when the apparatus is configured with a maximum of two codewords .

[0111] In a forty first example, a processor configured to perform the method of the fortieth example.

[0112] In a forty second example, a user eguipment (UE) configured to perform the method of the fortieth example.

[0113] In a forty third example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising processing, based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, the DCI scheduling either one codeword or two codewords and determining whether the DCI scheduled one codeword or two codewords, the network assistant signaling is used when scheduled with one codeword and the network assistant signaling is ignored when scheduled with two codewords .

[0114] In a forty fourth example, a processor configured to perform the method of the forty third example. [ 0115 ] In a forty fi fth example , a user equipment (UE ) configured to perform the method of the forty third example .

[ 0116] In a forty sixth example , a method performed by an apparatus , comprising generating, for transmission to a user equipment (UE ) via radio resource control (RRC ) signaling, configuration parameters including a configuration of code block group ( CBG) based transmission, wherein the apparatus is restricted from configuring network assistant signaling for the UE when the CBG based transmission is configured for the UE , the network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI ) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment .

[ 0117 ] In a forty seventh example , a processor configured to perform the method of the forty sixth example .

[ 0118 ] In a forty eighth example , a base station configured to perform the method of the forty sixth example .

[ 0119] In a forty ninth example , a method performed by an apparatus , comprising processing, based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC ) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI ) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, determining a maximum number of code block groups ( CBGs ) for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same maximum number of CBGs configured for the apparatus , determining a CBG flush indicator is configured for the one or more co-scheduled UEs when the CBG flush indicator is configured for the apparatus and determining the CBG flush indicator is not configured for the one or more co-scheduled UEs when the CBG flush indicator is not configured for the apparatus.

[0120] In a fiftieth example, a processor configured to perform the method of the forty ninth example.

[0121] In a fifty first example, a user equipment (UE) configured to perform the method of the forty ninth example.

[0122] In a fifty second example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising generating, for transmission to a user equipment (UE) via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, wherein the apparatus does not expect the UE to support low latency physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) processing capability 2 when the network assistant signaling is configured.

[0123] In a fifty third example, a processor configured to perform the method of the fifty second example.

[0124] In a fifty fourth example, a base station configured to perform the method of the fifty second example.

[0125] In a fifty fifth example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising generating, for transmission to a user equipment (UE) via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, wherein the apparatus either expects or does not expect the UE to support low latency physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) processing capability 2 when the network assistant signaling is configured based on a capability report received from the UE .

[0126] In a fifty sixth example, the method of the fifty fifth example, wherein a timeline for the low latency PDSCH processing capability 2 is relaxed for different subcarrier spacings (SCS ) .

[0127] In a fifty seventh example, a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the fifty fifth through fifty sixth examples.

[0128] In a fifty eighth example, a base station configured to perform any of the methods of the fifty fifth through fifty sixth examples.

[0129] In a fifty ninth example, a method performed by an apparatus, comprising generating, for transmission to a user eguipment (UE) via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information (DCI) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, wherein a timeline for regular latency physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) processing capability 1 is relaxed for different subcarrier spacings (SCS) .

[0130] In a sixtieth example, the method of the fifty ninth example, wherein a relaxed timeline for the regular latency PDSCH processing capability 1 adj usts the timeline for regular latency PDSCH processing capability 1 in units of symbol .

[ 0131 ] In a sixty first example , the method of the fi fty ninth example , wherein the relaxed timeline for the regular latency PDSCH processing capability 1 is based on a capability report received from the UE or is hardcoded in speci fication .

[ 0132 ] In a sixty second example , a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the fi fty ninth through sixty first examples .

[ 0133] In a sixty third example , a base station configured to perform any of the methods of the fi fty ninth through sixty first examples .

[ 0134 ] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described example embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof . An example hardware platform for implementing the example embodiments may include , for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS , a Mac platform and MAC OS , a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS , Android, etc . The example embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that , when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor .

[ 0135 ] Although this application described various embodiments each having different features in various combinations , those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one embodiment may be combined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner not speci fically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed embodiments .

[ 0136] It is well understood that the use of personally identi fiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recogni zed as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users . In particular, personally identi fiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimi ze risks of unintentional or unauthori zed access or use , and the nature of authori zed use should be clearly indicated to users .

[ 0137 ] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modi fications may be made in the present disclosure , without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure . Thus , it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent .

Claims

What is Claimed :

1 . An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to : process , based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC ) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information ( DCI ) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment, the DCI scheduling either one codeword or two codewords ; and determine whether the DCI scheduled one codeword or two codewords .

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to : use the network assistant signaling when scheduled with one codeword .

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the one codeword corresponds to 4 Physical Downlink Shared Channel ( PDSCH) layers or fewer .

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to : ignore the network assistant signaling when scheduled with two codewords .

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the two codewords correspond to greater than 4 Physical Downlink Shared Channel ( PDSCH) layers .

6 . An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to : process , based on signaling received from a base station via radio resource control (RRC ) signaling, network assistant signaling comprising a bit field in downlink control information ( DCI ) indicating information about one or more co-scheduled UEs in a multiple user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) deployment ; determine a codepoint mapping to content in which a demodulation reference signal ( DMRS ) sequence for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is considered to be a same DMRS sequence as the apparatus ; measure DMRS of a physical downlink shared channel ( PDSCH) transmission; estimate channel interference caused by PDSCH transmissions to the one or more co-scheduled UEs ; determine , based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS sequence initialization, Ci_nit, for the one or more coscheduled UEs is a same DMRS sequence initiali zation, c_init, as the apparatus ; and process the PDSCH transmission based on channel estimation .

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to : determine , based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS sequence initialization quantity, n_SCID , for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS sequence initialization quantity, n_SCID , as the apparatus .

8 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to : determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS scrambling identifier (ID) , N_D and N^_D, for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS scrambling ID, N_D and N^_D, as the apparatus .

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS slot index,

and OFDM symbol index within the slot, I, for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS slot index, and OFDM symbol index within the slot, I, as the apparatus such that the apparatus and the co-scheduled UEs are slot synchronized .

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that a subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same SCS as the apparatus.

11. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that a common resource block for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same common resource block as the apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that a DMRS configuration type for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same DMRS configuration type as the apparatus, wherein the DMRS configuration type comprises DMRS configuration type 1 or DMRS configuration type 2.

13. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that a number of DMRS symbols for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same number of DMRS symbols as the apparatus, wherein the number of DMRS symbols comprises 1 DMRS symbol or 2 DMRS symbols.

14. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that a size of a precoding resource block group (PRG) for the one or more co-scheduled UEs is a same or larger size of the PRG for the apparatus, wherein the size of the PRG is 2 physical resource blocks (PRE) , 4 PRE, or wideband.

15. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-16 DMRS, the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are also configured with Rel-16 DMRS .

16. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-16 DMRS, the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are configured with legacy DMRS .

17. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-16 DMRS, the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine that co-scheduled UEs are also configured with Rel-16 DMRS or configured with legacy DMRS based on an indication from the network.

18. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-18 DMRS, the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are also configured with Rel-18 DMRS .

19. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-18 DMRS, the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, based on the network assistant signaling, that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are configured with legacy DMRS .

20. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, when the apparatus is configured with Rel-18 DMRS, the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine that the one or more co-scheduled UEs are also configured with Rel-18 DMRS or is configured with legacy DMRS based on an indication from the network.